Monty Pythonâs Life Of Brian
Thereâs little doubt that the Monty Python troupe changed the face of comedy forever with their classic films and sketch shows. This release from 1979 is seemingly their big take on organized religion in general and Christianity (or their followers) in particular. The Pythons realized smartly that they couldnât just go out and directly spoof Jesus (even if they wanted to) due to an obvious negative backlash theyâd receive, so instead they cook up the story of Brian, an âalternate messiahâ if you will, born on the same night as Christ, who finds people turning to him for guidance without much prodding from him. Ironically, the film itself, which goes along at a pretty funny clip, finds itself at its weakest at the 2/3rds mark when it brings in its âmessiahâ dynamic, as Brian simply falls out of a window, lands on a stage, delivers some tired homilies, and before he knows it has a flock of people following him everywhere, and while this might seem funny to some, it came off to this viewer as a bit contrived and almost shoehorned into the film in the last half hour. Up to that point though, things were pretty good, with Graham Chapman playing Brian as a hapless nebbish stumbling from one incident to another, most notably an underground action group looking to expel the Romans from Jerusalem (despite conceding all the good things the Romans had done to improve their society). Of special note is an early scene showing a man about to be stoned to death for blasphemy, as funny in its execution as it is in the idea that such a barbaric practice would be looked upon in such a casual, cavalier way by the people (notwithstanding that some parts of the world still do it today ahem). Also worth noting are the scenes with Michael Palinâs Pontius Pilate and the Roman Centurion guards who canât keep from laughing at his speech impediment, Eric Idleâs merchant who insists on haggling with Brian over a sale when Brian has already agreed to his price, thus impeding his escape from the guards, and Idle and Terry Gilliamâs prison guards who appear to be deaf and feeble-minded when asked a question by John Cleeseâs Centurion, only to resume a normal-sounding conversation as soon as he walks away. One troublesome detail is that unlike Holy Grail, where the Pythons played multiple roles that were at least distinguishable from scene to scene, here director Terry Jones abruptly cuts from one scene to another by showing a closeup of one character before showing another clearly played by the same actor (most noticeable when going from Palin as Pilate to Palin as a prison official and several instances with Idle), leading one to believe that if a viewer wasnât familiar with the Python style going in, they would very seriously be thrown off. Fortunately we do get Sue Jones-Davies in a rare substantial role for a female in a Python film who also gets some full frontal nudity in (along with Chapman), and a near brilliant surreal ending where several crucified individuals sing merrily along to âAlways Look On The Bright Side Of Lifeâ as they hang there. Overall an effort that for the Pythons, is not quite as awesome as Holy Grail but is less hit-or-miss than Meaning Of LifeâŚ
8/10